The Vessel
by EmeraldSnakes
Summary: He resisted the urge to do - a lot of things actually. Part of the Angels and Aliens 'Verse


BTitle:/b The Vessel  
BSeries:/b Angels and Aliens  
BFandom:/b Torchwood/Supernatural  
BCharacters/Pairing:/b Ianto, Sam, Dean, Castiel  
BSpoilers/Warnings:/b None  
BRating :/b T  
BDisclaimer:/b I don't own Torchwood or Supernatural  
BSummary:/b He resisted the urge to do - a lot of things actually.

* * *

Gabriel did things differently, too differently and Ianto knew that he couldn't even attempt to imitate him. He could give just as good, but he couldn't do it with such an ease and for no reason. Sam and Dean would immediately know that something was up if he tried.

When morning came he slipped out with Dean's wallet and went to the supermarket. He didn't find exactly what he was looking but managed to pick up a relatively good equivalent. If he was going to endear himself to the Winchesters he figured he might as well start by making them the best pot of coffee it the world.

The coffee maker in the motel room wasn't the greatest but he made it work and when they woke he had a cup by their beds waiting while he sat with his own in one of the chairs.

"Is this going to kill me?" Dean asked, inspecting it like it was a poison.

Sam was looking between the both of them squint eyed, his brain not having caught up and Ianto could see why Gabriel was falling for him.

"I'm not dead," Ianto replied.

Dean shot him a look, eyes narrowing for just a moment before he picked up the cup and too a tentative sip.

His eyes widened, "Holy fuck Sammy, you have to try this."

Ianto smirked.

Sam blinked and reached for his own cup. Ianto watched as the coffee woke him up all the way and waited.

Sam turned to him surprised and in awe, "How the hell?"

Ianto shrugged, "Magic."

The brothers rolled their eyes and went through their morning routine, this time with the added edition of their coffee. It put them both in a good mood, made them less likely to notice that Gabriel wasn't actually there and more likely for Ianto to win himself (and Gabriel) some brownie points.

Ianto sat and watched them pack up, ready to leave. They were done with this little town, ghost vanquished and they needed to keep moving. Lucifer was looking for him. It was getting closer to the taboo "Detroit" date and they wanted to stay clear of the city and every demon from her on out.

Ianto kind of wished there wasn't such a strong correlation between Hunting and Torchwood. It was generally the same, except for the whole thing where one dealt with things natural to Earth the other with aliens. It made him think of Jack and he didn't want to think of Jack because then he might regret saying "yes" and resent Gabriel and that just couldn't happen.

"Not flying today?" Dean asked, later when they were in a diner eating breakfast. Ianto had to resist the urge to make the coffee himself, it was so _American_. He resisted the urge to do - a lot of things actually.

"Don't feel like it," he replied, forgoing Gabriel's usual sugar high because it didn't matter if vesseling an archangel meant his body stayed in perfect condition, _that_ much sugar was going to end up killing him.

"Same reason you don't feel like maple syrup?" Sam asked concerned.

Ianto glared at him and he looked away quickly. It was then that Ianto realized that posing as Gabriel was going to be more difficult that he'd anticipated. The whole point was to make sure they didn't know he was conscious. Gabriel had told him that usually the vessel's mind was subdued and put to sleep, that the Winchesters had never been fond of the idea of anything riding a human's body and that it shouldn't be possible that they were able to remain this way. Gabriel preferred not to have the drama and moral issues involved brought up. Ianto quite agreed.

"Can I get some bacon?" Dean asked.

"What am I, your maid?" Ianto countered annoyed. "I already made you coffee."

X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.x.X.

Dean was strangely similar to Jack, Ianto found. What made the Winchesters weirder was that Sam was quite similar to Lisa. It made Ianto all kinds of confused and as Dean drove them south, headed for Florida he sat in the back silently.

They may be alike, yet Ianto knew that he would never be attracted to Dean. Sam he might fall for but it was very possible that Gabriel's feelings (like everything else about Gabriel) were bleeding into his own.

Could he even trust his own feelings now? Gabriel normally buried most of his feelings, but those he didn't suppress impacted Ianto like a heavy weight on his chest. He felt things so strongly that sometimes Ianto felt like it might kill him.

"Hey!" Dean yelled, reaching an arm back to wave in Ianto's face.

Ianto jumped and batted Dean's hand away, "What?"

"We're trying to talk to you," Dean told him. "Pay attention."

"Are you sure you're okay?" Sam asked again and Ianto sighed.

"I'm debating on the pros and cons of dumping a bucket of goo on Dean and Castiel while they're having sex compared to while they're sleeping."

Not necessarily true but, he might as well spoil Gabriel's fun here knowing it would get ugly if he went through with it. Dean, he figured, had a wicked pranking skill and he knew from experience that goo always brought out a retaliation.

"Don't you fucking dare," Dean snarled and Sam gave him a disapproving look.

Ianto shrugged, "It wasn't very original anyway."

There was a tense silence between them and Ianto wondered if Gabriel would classify this as stupid. He tended to classify everything as stupid.

"Cas called," Sam told him. "There's something he wants to talk about with us."

Ianto nodded, "Did he say what?"

Sam shook his head but glanced at Dean, "We should be at the meeting point in ten minutes."

Ianto frowned. He was kind of hoping to avoid Castiel because of all of them, he would immediately know that Gabriel wasn't there. He would totally blow Ianto's cover.

Dean pulled them into an empty rest stop and parked a foot away from the fallen angel who was standing in the center of the parking lot like a statue. He looked bored.

"He looks bored." Ianto said.

"Yea, I wouldn't tell him that," Dean replied parking the car and getting out. Sam and Ianto followed at a more sedate pace to give them some private greeting time.

"So, what's going on Cas?" Dean asked once they'd all gathered.

Castiel looked at Ianto and just stopped.

"Cas?"

Ianto stared right back at him, daring him to say anything and hoping he didn't because it wasn't like Ianto could do anything to stop him.

"Cas!"

Castiel looked at Dean and spoke in his normal, deep voice, except this time he seemed annoyed. "Things have changed. I was going to as Gabriel but…"

Ianto cringed and couldn't look them in the eyes.

"But what?" Ianto demanded.

Ianto wished they would all just stop talking.

"Gabriel's not here."

"What do you mean he's not here?" Sam asked bewildered. "I can see him."

"It's not Gabriel," Castiel replied.

Ianto watched the emotional transistions on Sam and Dean's faces go from suspicion to anger and betrayal and hwile he kind of expected it, he didn't expect it to hurt so much. It was nothing to the pain when Dean pulled his gun.

"You don't need to do that Dean," Castiel said.

"I don't think so. You just said it wasn't Gabriel."

"Then I wasn't making myself clear." Castiel looked at Dean before facing Ianto. "Gabriel is both here and not here."

"Thanks Cas, that makes it so much better," Dean deadpanned.

"I'm the Vessel you idiots," Ianto finally spoke, tired of the endless circles. He wanted this over with, though he wanted Gabriel back more so that he could crawl into the corners of his mind and pretend that none of this had happened.

"The Vessel?" Sam traded a worried look with Dean. "Where's Gabriel?"

"In here," Ianto replied. "Contemplating life, or whatever it is he does when he's not serving Justice. Don't worry, I'm sure he'll be back soon."

Ianto couldn't help but keep the slightly bitter tone out of his voice and he hoped they didn't notice. He'd said yes, he'd known what he was getting into and yes, this was too unexpected and too real to just not feel anything about it.

"So what do we do then?" Dean asked. "Can whatever you needed Gabriel for be put off?"

"It can wait," Cas said with a nod. "Hopefully long enough."

"You don't know?" Dean demanded.

"It's not something I planned to let wait," Cas answered, staring at Deal through slightly narrowed eyes. "But it can."

"Are you absolutely sure Cas?" Dean asked concerned.

Ianto turned away from them and headed back to the car. He could wait there, let them decide everything. It wasn't like he was needed here or anywhere else.

"Uh, hey," Sam says awkwardly. Ianto hadn't even realized he'd been followed and that annoyed him.

Ianto glanced at him tiredly, "What?"

Sam flinched and looked down, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck. "Can I ask your name?"

Ianto sighed, "Jones, Ianto Jones."

Sam looked up at him and Ianto felt a little back for him. He was trying to get to know Ianto, to be nice to him and all Ianto was doing was being an ass.

"Are you…"Sam looked down again. "Gabriel said your father was a Hunter."

Ianto nodded, "He never told any of us, not really. He called it Hunting but none of us believed he was hunting. And then he died on one of his trips, killed by who knows what and we didn't even have a body to burry, just an empty casket."

"I'm sorry. I know how that is," Sam said softly.

"Yeah," Ianto muttered. "Gabe gave me a rundown of your lives."

Sam snorted, "He's got a big mouth."

Ianto laughed, "HE does, doesn't he? Always saying things, pissing people off, judging them."

"He's fun though," Sam said, mirth in his and eyes and Ianto's reflected that. "Never a dull moment."

Ianto nodded, "When he was trying to convince e me to say yes, he'd mess with my co-workers heads. Owen and I are friends but it's all based on our ability to _not_ get along. Gabriel usually went all pagan god on his ass and his creativity was just brilliant. Never figured out how 'I' was doing it."

Sam was smiling and Ianto was happy. They continued to talk until Dean ordered them back into the car. Dean's displeasure killed their mood, Ianto's more than Sam's since Sam was use to it. Ianto knew that to Dean he was just a civilian, someone who shouldn't even be traveling with them, but Dean was an idiot. Ianto hoped they ran into a Hunt because he wanted to prove to Dean, and to Sam, that he was more than just a bloody vessel.


End file.
